Bumpers assemblies of vehicles are designed absorb energy and/or transfer energy during vehicle impacts. Such vehicle impacts may include frontal impacts. Frontal impacts may be simulated with crash tests, such as, a frontal impact test, a frontal oblique impact test, small offset rigid barrier (SORB) test, etc. As one example, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) sets a standard for a SORB frontal crash test in which the vehicle impacts a rigid barrier at 40 miles/hour with 25% of an outer portion of the vehicle overlapping the rigid barrier.
The design of the bumper assembly to absorb and/or transfer energy during vehicle impacts may create difficulties in other design factors, such as manufacturing and vehicle styling. In particular, the size and shape of the bumper assembly affects the outward aesthetic appearance of the front end of the vehicle. There remains an opportunity to design a bumper assembly that satisfies these competing design factors.